SALT LAKE CITY – It may have been hard for him, but Chael Sonnen gave his former rival Jon Jones a big compliment.
Sonnen coached Season 17 of “The Ultimate Fighter” opposite side Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) in 2013, and the pair fought at UFC 159. Jones finished Sonnen by first-round TKO to retain his light heavyweight title.
Jones returned from a layoff in excess of three years to quickly submit Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 and capture the vacant heavyweight belt. He’s scheduled to make his first title defense against Stipe Miocic in the UFC 295 headliner on Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden.
According to Sonnen, Jones had initially accepted to fight surging contender Sergei Pavlovich, and complimented him for his willingness to fight anyone.
“I’ll give you some inside scoop: They didn’t know they were going to get Stipe and Jon Jones was asked, ‘Will you fight Sergei Pavlovich?’ He was asked this behind the scenes and he said yes,” Sonnen told MMA Junkie. “Jon Jones is not scared of anybody.
“I don’t love Jon Jones, but I will tell the story the way it happened, and to make believe that Jon Jones is scared to fight somebody is false. … It is a big compliment, and it hurts. It pained me to say that. He said I had boobs. I’m over here defending him and he said I had boobs. Those are pecs, Jon.”
Jones hinted at retirement after fighting Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC), but Sonnen isn’t buying it.
“Jon’s a prizefighter. He doesn’t have enough money to retire,” Sonnen said. “I don’t say that to be a d*ck. He does not have enough money to retire. So no, there’s no question (he’ll keep fighting). The whole retirement (threat) angle is terrible, by the way. All you do is alienate fans.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.
